Therapeutic bath back brush and process of using same

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical brush having bristles located in a helical column upon the surface of the cylinder and a pulley fastened at the base of the cylinder with a cord passing through the grooved rim of the pulley. The brush is adjustably mounted on a plate having suction cups on the side of the plate opposite the brush. The suction cups secure the plate to a shower wall and the brush is adjusted to the desired height of a body portion of a person. The body portion is washed and massaged when it is maintained in contact with the brush and the cord is reciprocated by the person to produce a reciprocating rotation of the brush.

United States Patent Cameron [54] THERAPEUTIC BATH BACK BRUSH ANDPROCESS OF USING SAME 72 Inventor: Malcolm R. Cameron, 1340CeriseAvenue, Hawthorne, Calif.

[22] Filed: March 4, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 120,905

[52] US. Cl. ..15/21 D, 4/158, 128/56 [51] Int. Cl. ..A6lh 7/00 [58]Field of Search ..l5/159, 160, 179, 182, 181,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,078,484 2/1963 Briggs..l5/2l R 3,196,867 7/1965 Perry "4/158 X 1,495,182 5/1924 Hoover"15/182 Oct. 24, 1972 Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin Att0rney-Frank E.Wattles [57 ABSTRACT A cylindrical brush having bristles located in ahelical column upon the surface of the cylinder and a pulley fastened atthe base of the cylinder with a cord passing through the grooved rim, ofthe pulley. The brush is adjustably mounted on a plate having suctioncups on the side of the plate opposite the brush. The suction cupssecure'the plate to a shower wall and the brush is adjusted to thedesired height of a body portion of a person. The body portion is washedand massaged when it is maintained in contact with the brush and thecord is reciprocated by the person to produce a reciprocating rotationof the brush.

5 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure PATENTED 0m 24 1972 Malcolm R. CameronINVENTOR.

ATTORNEY THERAPEUTIC BATH BACK BRUSH AND I PROCESS OF USING SAMEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to brushes and specifically to mechanically rotated brushes.

2. Description of the Prior Art Brushes of many descriptions exist.Brushes which are usable in a wet environment, such as in a shower, arelimited generally to those brushes which are hand held or passive. Forsafety reasons electrically operated brushes are not usable in a shower.The hand held brushes adapted to clean the back of a person arerelatively difficult to manipulate. Passive brushes which requiremovement of a portion of the body in contact with the brush areundesirable for cleaning and massaging purposes.

The present invention provides a safe mechanically operated brush whichsatisfactorily cleans and massages and is suited to use in a shower. Byproviding a cylindrical brush having bristles helically formed on thecylinder and a cord and pulley operatively connected to the brush, thebrush can be rotated readily by reciprocating the cord and pulley.Reciprocating rotation of the brush will produce an efficient motion ofthe bristles upon the contacting body portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, this invention provides a back brushfor cleaning and massaging a portion of the body of a per son. The brushcomprises a rotatable brush with means connected thereto for mountingthe brush upon a support surface. A pulley is mounted upon the brush anda cord is located within the grooved rim of the pulley to reciprocatablyrotate the pulley and brush as the cord is pulled over the pulley.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing: The FIGURE is aperspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing,the figure shows a preferred embodiment of the back brush. The backbrush comprises a rotatable brush 1 1 having a pulley 12 mounted thereonwith a cord 13 located within the grooved rim of the pulley. Preferably,pulley 12 is mounted at one end of brush 11. Means 14 are pro vided formounting the brush 11 upon a support surface (not shown) such as a wall.The mounting means comprises two support collars 15 locatedsubstantially at the ends of brush 11, a base plate 16 with two columnsof hooks 17 mounted on one side of the base plate, and a plurality ofsuction cups 18 on the side of the base plate opposite the hooks.Collars 15 are substantially rigid to provide firm support for bush 1 1.Each collar is looped around brush 11 providing a track Within which thebrush can freely rotate. Two legs 20 of each collar 15 extend away fromthe looped collar portion and an eyelet 21 is formed at the end of eachleg 20. Each eyelet engages a corresponding hook 17. The position ofbrush 11 can be ad'usted b relocatin the e elets different hooks. It isapparen i that othe r con entioriiil added.

According to the operation of the brush 10, the base plate 16 is placedon a supporting surface wall such as in a shower. The plate is securedto the wall on suction cups 18. Brush 11 is adjusted to the properheight to wash the desired body portion of the bather by locatingeyelets 21 on appropriate hooks 1.7. The bather grasps cord 13 at itsends and pulls the cord back and forth. The reciprocating motion of thecord, reciprocates pulley 12 and brush 11. The bather moves into contactwith the bristles 24 and continues to pull on the cord. The helicalbristles will clean and massage the contacting body portion and providea force in two directions, horizontal and vertical.

I claim:

1. A back brush for cleaning and massaging a portion of the body of aperson, which comprises:

a rotatable brush comprising a cylinder with the bristles located in ahelical column upon the outer surface of the cylinder;

means for mounting the brush upon a support surface;

a pulley mounted upon the brush; and

a cord located within the grooved rim of the pulley to reciprocatablyrotate the pulley and brush.

2. A back brush as recited in claim 1 wherein the pulley and cord arelocated at the lower end of the cylinder to facilitate manualreciprocation with the brush vertically positioned at a height whichsubstantially locates the cord and pulley at the normally hangingposition of the arms of the person.

3. A back brush as recited in claim 1 wherein the pulley and cord arecompletely exposed and the cylinder is sealed at its ends.

4. A back brush as recited in claim 3 wherein the means for mountingcomprises:

a base;

means for adjustably attaching the brush to the base;

and

suction cups mounted on the base to secure the base to a wall.

5. A process for cleaning and massaging a portion of the body of aperson comprising the steps of:

reciprocating a connecting cord and pulley;

rotating a brush having a helical column of bristles simultaneously withthe step of reciprocating; and

placing the body portion in contact with the rotating helical brush.

1. A back brush for cleaning and massaging a portion of the body of aperson, which comprises: a rotatable brush comprising a cylinder withthe bristles located in a helical column upon the outer surface of thecylinder; means for mounting the brush upon a support surface; a pulleymounted upon the brush; and a cord located within the grooved rim of thepulley to reciprocatably rotate the pulley and brush.
 2. A back brush asrecited in claim 1 wherein the pulley and cord are located at the lowerend of the cylinder to facilitate manual reciprocation with the brushvertically positioned at a height which substantially locates the cordand pulley at the normally hanging position of the arms of the person.3. A back brush as recited in claim 1 wherein the pulley and cord arecompletely exposed and the cylinder is sealed at its ends.
 4. A backbrush as recited in claim 3 wherein the means for mounting comprises: abase; means for adjustably attaching the brush to the base; and suctioncups mounted on the base to secure the base to a wall.
 5. A process forcleaning and massaging a portion of the body of a person comprising thesteps of: reciprocating a connecting cord and pulley; rotating a brushhaving a helical column of bristles simultaneously with the step ofreciprocating; and placing the body portion in contact with the rotatinghelical brush.